


A Friend in Need

by SwoodMaxProductions



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Featuring gentle pats from Fi, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hair stroking, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Tending to Wounds, Unconsciousness, Whump, soft, worried friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24894688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwoodMaxProductions/pseuds/SwoodMaxProductions
Summary: A Yiga Clan attack leaves two dead Yiga and one very injured Link, scooped up and brought to the Dueling Peaks stable...
Comments: 28
Kudos: 201





	A Friend in Need

It had been a standard patrol for Brigo until he saw the blood.

Two bodies lay in the road, a pool of blood beneath them. Suppressing his gag reflex, he found that they were both, as expected, dead. What hadn’t been expected, however, were the scattered paper talismans and tattoos of the Yiga Clan. Or the trail of blood leading  _ away _ from the site of the battle.

It wasn’t long before the trail led directly to the sweet boy he had passed so often, slumped on his side at the roadside.

One hand was clutching his side, his fingers stained with the blood that had soaked through his clothing. The other still loosely grasped his sword. He didn’t respond to Brigo’s panicked call, and for what must have been minutes but seemed like hours, he dreaded, so intensely he felt sick, that the kind, quiet boy was dead.

At last, he found a feather of a pulse, and it was all the prompting he needed to gather the unconscious teen into his arms and make for the Dueling Peaks Stable as fast as he could. The poor boy whimpered pitifully when touched, his body concerningly light in Brigo’s arms. He was borderline hysterical when he got to the stable with the bloodied, limp bundle clutched against him.

~~~

The boy, Link… he was in a terrible state. He’d lost a lot of blood. There was a terrible gash along his side from the serrated blades of the Yiga, along with many other, smaller cuts and many patches of bruises. They’d had to cut away his shirt, which had adhered to the wound on his side. The entire stable winced as one when it was peeled away and Link cried out in pain.

The children could be heard sobbing outside as their uncle Tasseren tried to comfort them. Sagessa, the closest thing their meager post-Calamity stable had to a doctor, took a steaming wet rag to clean the young traveler’s wounds. They all silently thanked any deity that would listen that they’d had a kettle of water boiling. Tea could wait. Link could not.

The poor child let out a hoarse, agonized moan, and Rensa, himself a father, instinctively put a hand on Link’s head, stroking his fluffy blonde mop of hair and shushing him, letting the suffering youth squeeze his hand in the throes of his pain as Sagessa carefully stitched his larger wounds shut.

Word traveled fast. Visitors began flooding in, asking frantically about poor Link. He was always such a helpful, kind soul, and though they’d never known him to speak, he was always ready to help anyone in need. Why would anyone, even those as wicked as the Yiga Clan, want to cause such harm to such a sweet young man?! What could possibly have motivated the attack?!

It was with the arrival of Garill, the local history buff, that they got their answer.

At first, his reaction was standard. He was horrified by Link’s injuries, freshly bandaged now. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of the gruesome scars crisscrossing the unconscious youth’s bare chest. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“Garill? Are you okay?”

“The… the Champion…” he stammered, “Those… are wounds that killed the Hylian Champion 100 years ago at the Battle of Fort Hateno…”

“I… I’d heard the rumors in Kakariko, that… that the Hylian Champion was put into some kind of healing sleep, and had only recently awoken,” whispered Brokka, “I never thought… I never realized…”

Link made a soft noise as Sagessa gently coaxed him awake enough to drink some of her healing potions. His eyes were bleary and confused, but grateful as they gradually fluttered shut, his round, youthful face showing less pain than when he’d been brought in. 

He looked so small and helpless, half-naked, vulnerable, and once more unconscious as his healing body submitted to the exhaustion of his ordeal.

Their young hero needed his rest.

In the night, there were reports of a distant singing, and Beedle even claimed he’d woken up to glimpse the faint, glowing figure of a girl floating at Link’s bedside, just above where they had placed his sword, caressing the boy’s sleeping face forlornly before disappearing. In the darkness, Link seemed to smile ever so slightly in his sleep.

~~~

Link woke gradually, wincing at the sharp surge of pain as he tried to move. He was… alive? Two young boys could be heard from outside, talking about… him? That… he would be okay?

“Link! Oh, Link, you’re awake!”

Pushing his eyes open, he found that the voice belonged to… Reede? The chief of Hateno Village? What was he doing all the way at… well, Link didn’t quite know where he was. All he knew was that he was tucked into a soft bed, warm, safe, and surrounded by concerned, friendly faces. His wounds had been cleaned and dressed, and despite the pain… Link felt comforted.

“You just rest there, Link. You’ll be alright.”

Reede hesitantly reached out to pat Link’s head. Link accepted the touch with a weak smile, and Reede carded his fingers through the soft blonde locks with a smile of his own. With the few memories he’d recovered being mostly bittersweet at best, it was sometimes difficult for Link to remember that he was seventeen. Shrine of Resurrection or not, he was a teenager, denied the love and affection any child needed. At least, until now.

“We’ve got some stew on for you. You just rest. You’ve been through too much.”

Someone had said it. Someone had finally said it. Not “go fight because destiny said so”, not “do as I say”. “You’ve been through too much.” He had. He really had. 

From what he remembered, King Rhoam had never cared about anyone but himself. He barked orders, and those orders were obeyed. Link wasn’t fighting for him.

The people, gathered around him, showering him with love and concern he didn’t think he fully deserved, nursing him back to health not because they needed him for some purpose, but because they  _ cared. _

These were the people Link was fighting for.


End file.
